One interesting political dynamic right now is that Obama is working to enlist the support of business leaders to prevent another debt ceiling standoff next year. House Republicans are thinking about caving now on the middle class tax cuts — then coming back next year and staging another 2011 style debt ceiling battle to win the deep entitlement cuts they want. Business leaders are cool to the possibility, because such standoffs risk damaging the economy.

I’ve just learned that one of the most influential business groups in Washington, the Business Roundtable, is prepared to support a provision designed to dramatically minimize the possibility of another standoff now and in the future — one also supported by the White House. This is a step forward for White House efforts to prevent a 2011-style battle, which led to a credit downgrade for the United States, and widespread fears that the country would go into default.

Obama — who is refusing to negotiate over the debt ceiling again — supports a measure called the “McConnell provision,” a proposal pushed by Mitch McConnell last year to try to defuse the crisis. Under the provision, the president can request a debt limit hike, after which Congress can vote to deny the request by disapproving of it. The president can then veto that request, and unless Congress overrides that veto with a two-thirds vote in both houses, it is honored. The provision transfers most control over the debt ceiling to the President and makes it far harder for the opposing party in Congress to block hikes — meaning the constant threat of default, and the ability to engage in brinksmanship around it, are effectively removed.

The McConnell provision was passed as a temporarily measure as part of last year’s debt ceiling compromise but would need to be extended now. The White House has proposed extending it; if that happens, House Republicans would not be able to stage a meaningful standoff next year.
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1. I think that this is the way we need to go

raising the debt ceiling NEVER used to be "leverage" for spending cuts and raising it passed nearly unremarked every time it was done in the past and you can bet that the instant we have a Republican POTUS it will never be mentioned it again, much less used as leverage against them by Democrats. Of course, as long as Barack Obama (or any Democrat) is POTUS, the Republicans will never give it up and they seem primed for a sequel to last year's debt ceiling debacle that has now lead to their new "Fiscal Cliff" crisis.

Might as well let the President have the power to do it- since Republicans want to use it over and over again to hold the country/economy "hostage" until they finally get the cuts to Medicare/Social Security they've been lusting over. If Congress wants to cut spending, fine, they should have that debate but raising the debt ceiling is paying for stuff we've already spent. We all can't spend money on a credit card and then refuse to pay for it eventually